Little Bear Meets Franklin
by Nightingale1408
Summary: Franklin is very sad to learn that he has to move away due to his dad getting a new job. Luckily a young bear with a big imagination and big heart can help him see that moving to a new place, isn't so bad.


**A/N: This is my first fanfic in quite a long time. **** I finally had the time and energy to put something together. **** As with all of my fanfics, please read and review to tell me how you liked it. **** I decided to start small by making a crossover fanfic having to do with one of my favorite childhood cartoons, Little Bear, and another cartoon that I watched as a kid known as Franklin. **** For some reason, they reminded me of each other so much, and then I got to thinking, I wonder what would happen if the two characters had met and became friends? **** So, here is my story. **** I hope you like it. **

Chapter 1: The Goodbye Party

The morning sun's rays showered Franklin's room as he slept, curled within his turtle shell. His room nearly bare, save for the small piles of brown cardboard boxes stacked neatly against the wall. Goldie, his pet fish, slept soundly within her fish bowl. Her bowl resting on the now empty bookcase. The alarm clock went off, waking Franklin and Goldie from their sleep. Franklin clutched his stuffed toy dog Sam, and rubbed his eyes. He sat on the floor for a minute or two, before getting up and taking the small plastic container of fish food to feed Goldie her breakfast. He then wrapped his small red neckerchief around his neck, put on his red baseball cap, and walked out of his room. The rest of his house was almost just as bare, save for a dew essential pieces as well as more stacked brown cardboard boxes. Franklin's mother and father sat at the table, with a large stack of thickly sliced, and evenly buttered pieces of French toast at the middle of the table, with the bottle of maple syrup next to it. Franklin's mother cut his sister Harriett's French toast into smaller squares for her to eat, and then poured an even coat of the syrup on top.

"Good morning Franklin." His mother said with a smile. "How did you sleep?"

Franklin sat down in his usual chair, looking down at his feet. "Not so good." he answered quietly.

His mother's smile lessened a little. "Still not happy about the move?" she asked sympathetically.

"Nope," Franklin answered. "I had a dream last night though."

"Oh? What did you dream about?" his mother asked while finishing making Harriett's plate and began making her own.

"That we weren't moving." Franklin said sadly.

"Franklin, I know you're not happy about us moving, but this move will be good for us. Your father got a much better job that can help us get a nicer place. It has a big backyard for you and Harriet to play in, it's close to town so there's plenty to do and new people to meet, and it's right near the woods so you can go play and make new friends. That'll be nice, wouldn't it?"

Franklin was silent for a moment. "I…guess," he said. "I just wish I didn't have to leave all of my friends. It was bad enough when Bear had to move."

"Bear still writes to you doesn't he?" Franklin's mother asked.

He shook his head. "Not so much anymore. I guess he's forgetting all about me now that he's got new friends to hang out with."

"Oh sweetie that's not true." His mother reassured him. "You and Bear had been best friends since you were little, a friendship like that doesn't just go away."

Franklin let out a sad sigh.

"I don't know Mom, I just don't know…"

Mrs. Turtle looked at her son, saddened by how hard Franklin had been taking the big move. All of the packing and planning had been hard enough to get through within the past few weeks, but Franklin had taken the news of the move, as well as everything else, particularly hard, especially since Bear had moved away almost a month earlier. To make matters worse, Rabbit, Fox, and Beaver had all began to grow apart from their friendships, and began hanging out at other places, and doing other things. Soon, the only people he had left to hang out with were Badger, Snail, and Goose. Although Franklin was still grateful that they would always be his friends, he was still hurt about losing everyone else, and now, he felt like he was leaving his only three true friends behind forever, never to see them again. Franklin's stomach rumbled with hunger, so he made his plate of French toast and ate his breakfast before leaving for the bus. Mrs. Turtle made sure to give him a big hug before leaving.

"It'll be alright dear," she said, hugging him tight. "Everything is going to be just fine, I promise."

Franklin nodded and hugged his mother back. "I hope so," he said, noticing that the bus had pulled up. "I love you,"

"Love you too sweetheart," said Mrs. Turtle as she watched Franklin get on the bus to school. Franklin climbed onto the bus, walking to the last row of seats, and sat in the left corner window. His mind blocking out all of the sounds of children's laughter and excitement as the bus pulled away from his house on the way to school. He pulled his knees under his chin, and buried his face, squeezing his eyes shut, trying his best not to cry.

At school, Franklin remained quiet, not speaking a single word to anyone. He sat at his desk, his head hung low. The hours of the day slowly going by. Badger, Snail and Goose did their best to cheer him up, devoting the whole day to spend time with him. They ate their snacks and lunch with him, and played whatever games he chose to play at recess. Franklin found at least a little comfort, the care of his three friends helping to ease some of the sadness of the big move. After playing a couple of rounds of hide and seek, Badger gently patted Franklin's shell and smiled.

"Hey Franklin," Badger said. "I have to go to the classroom and get something really quick, okay? I'll be right back."

Franklin nodded. "Okay, do you need any help?"

"Nah, it's okay, I got it," Badger said, grabbing hold of her crutches and making her way to the classroom. A minute later, she appeared at the door, with their teacher, Mr. Owl standing behind her. He signaled for Goose to walk over.

"Goose, could you come over here please?" he called politely.

"I'll be right back Franklin," she said, walking over to the door.

Franklin could see Mr. Owl bending down to whisper something to the two of them. Both of the girls nodded in excitement, as Mr. Owl smiled and went back inside. Franklin titled his head in wonder. What were they talking about?

Badger and Goose came back over, smiling. "So Franklin," Badger said. "What do you want to play next?"

Franklin looked at Badger and Goose. "What did Mr. Owl talk want to talk to you about?" he asked.

"Just something about the class project that we got partnered up for." Badger answered. "Oh, I almost forgot. I made something for you," she said, beginning to look into her pocket.

Badger then pulled out three handmade friendship bracelets. Each one carefully threaded and weaved together with strong cuts of black chord and a pattern of brightly shining glass beads, each bead a different shade of each other's favorite color from light to dark.

"I made these for us," Badger said. "This way, we'll always be best friends, and we'll never forget each other."

She handed Franklin his bracelet, and put Snail's around his neck. "Here you go Franklin, this one's yours."

Franklin stared at his new bracelet after putting it on his wrist. "Wow, Badger, this is awesome! Thank you so much!"

Badger smiled after handling Goose her bracelet and then putting on her own. "You're welcome," she said.

"These are great Badger, thanks!" said Goose.

"How long did it take you to make these?" Franklin asked.

"Almost a week and a half. I wanted to make sure the colors and sizes were right." Badger said. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" said Franklin.

"Great" Badger smiled. "Does yours fit okay Snail?"

"Yeah, it fits great, thanks!" said Snail. "Not too big, or too small, it fits just right."

"That's good. Yours was a little tricky to put together because of your size. I'm glad I got it right,"

The bell rang, signaling all of the students to head back into the classroom. Franklin got up, placing Snail safely on the corner of his shell, and began walking back. The ringing of the school bell reminding him of how little time he had left before the move. The day had already gone by so fast, almost as if on purpose. Badger went in first, followed by Goose. He sat down at his desk, remaining quiet. The lights in the classroom were off, which Franklin found odd, considering that the classroom tv hadn't been pulled to the front of the room for everyone to watch a movie. Suddenly, the room had gone quiet; no one made a sound, what was going on? Then, the lights flashed on.

"Surprise!" all the kids exclaimed.

Franklin looked around, seeing cake and ice cream on Mr. Owl's desk. All of the kids then began passing around paper plates, napkins, and plastic forks.

"Wh-what's this?" Franklin asked, his eyes wide.

"Your mother called me a couple of days ago, asking for some help cheering you up about your big move." Mr. Owl explained. "So, I and the whole class set up a little party for you."

"You guys did all of this for me?" Franklin asked.

"Of course we did," said Snail. "You're our friend Franklin."

Snail's words echoed in his mind as Mr. Owl handed him the first plate of cake and ice cream. Franklin began to eat, the sadness of the big move not feeling quite as heavy as before. As the school day came to an end, Franklin hugged Mr. Owl, thanking him for his kindness.

After school, Franklin's friends rode the bus to his house for a sleepover. They took care to roll out their sleeping bags, as well as helping Snail with his, and picking out a small box of toys to play with that would be easy enough to repack. They spent a majority of the night watching movies while Mr. and Mrs. Turtle had ordered pizza for dinner. That night, Franklin went to sleep happy for the first time in weeks, thankful for the reassurance and happiness that his friends had given him.

The next morning marked the day of the big move. It was still a bittersweet goodbye for everyone. Badger and Goose volunteered to help move as much as they could into the mover's trucks, while Snail rode on Franklin's shell. When it was finally time to go, Franklin still was finding hard to say goodbye.

"Thanks for everything you guys. It really means a lot to me," Franklin said.

"It's no problem as all Franklin, we just wanted to cheer you up, and make you happy," said Badger.

Franklin then suddenly threw his arms around Badger and Goose, hugging them.

"I'm really going to miss you guys," he said.

"Hey, it's not goodbye forever," said Badger, as she and Goose joined in a group hug. "You can always write to us, and talk to us on the phone."

"Yeah, and maybe we can come visit you at your new house once you've moved in," suggested Goose.

Franklin nodded. "Yeah," he said, gently giving Snail a tiny hug and taking him off of his shell, giving him to Badger.

"Don't worry Franklin," said Badger gently. "We're always going to be the best of friends, no matter what."

Badger put out a flattened hand in front of her, followed by Goose placing her wing on top of it. Franklin then put his hand out, resting it on theirs, the colored glass beads of everyone's friendship bracelets sparkling in the morning sunlight.

"It's promise," said Snail sincerely.

Franklin smiled as Mr. Turtle called to him.

"Franklin, it's time to go son!" he said.

He quickly turned his head to his father's direction. "Coming Dad!" he said.

Franklin waved goodbye as he climbed into his parent's car, looking out the back window as his father started up the engine, and began to drive away. He continued to look out the window, waving until his friends' figures continued to shrink and had gotten so small he could barely see them, and then positioned himself correctly into his seat before putting on his seatbelt. He held onto Sam tightly, as he stared at the beautiful friendship bracelet Badger had made for him. A small tear rolling down his cheek, but he was happy. Happy that he knew that he still had friends that cared about him and would always be with him, no matter what.


End file.
